1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a diagonal elevation apparatus for installation between upper and lower floors of a building, a man elevator installed integrally with a building, and a control system for the man elevator.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, man elevation apparatuses to be installed integrally in a building have been elevators and escalators.
In the elevator, a cage is suspended by steel ropes and moved up and down intermittently by tension rollers. To provide friction with the roller surface, a counter-weight is suspended on the opposite side of the steel ropes. The cage moves up and down substantially vertically and is driven by electric power or the like to improve operation speed. In contrast, the escalator has a chain conveyor for man for continuous operation which is disposed between floor of a building with an inclination angle of approximately 25.degree.. Step-like step plates are guided appropriately by use of two chains. It becomes step-like at the inclined portions and becomes a horizontal support surface at the floors of the upper and lower floors. Generally, it is driven by electric power and its speed is low.
However, when the elevator facility described above is installed inside a building, it has been necessary in the past for the building to have a specific structure, strength or space so as to satisfy the requirements for load resistance and elevation slope and this results in the drawbacks that the weight and power of the apparatus become great and noise occurs. In the escalator, the angle of inclination must be limited to a relatively low angle (approx. 25.degree.) in order to prevent fall-off of passengers one upon another, particularly when a large number of passengers use the escalator. This means that a greater space is necessary. Since the step surface becomes a narrow step-like portion a the inclined portion of the escalator, the use of a wheelchair has been difficult. On the other had, the elevator has disadvantages in that the passengers are confined inside the cage at the time of accident or service failure and a refuge path is difficult to secure. Futhermore, these facilities must be provided with a safety device lest the platform for the passengers moves up and down accidentally due to cut-off of the driving belts.
However, no elevator facilities which solve the problems of the conventional escalators and elevators have yet been accomplished, and installation of even the conventional escalators and elevators has been extremely difficult, particularly in houses in general having a limited space.